Last Sunday

was my daughter in laws birthday so I drove to Nashville to celebrate it with my only child, his wife and her family. It was such a glorious day (75 plus degrees and sunny) that I decided to drive most of it off the interstate on a state route taking me through a number of smaller communities. I was headed down a hill on the other side of Smithville when I saw this brilliant orange just on the side of the road next the concrete curb. For a second I thought it was a fox but no it was a beautiful orange Pomeranian. It was sitting next to the curb just on the very edge of the pavement with its back to the road looking up at the 25 or so foot rocky embankment that bordered the grass. I thought geeze I am running late I'm not stopping so I passed the dog, and managed to get all of 100 yards before I did a U turn came back up the hill did another U turn and parked in front of the Pom. At this point it is laying down, I get out of the car (there is actually a paved shoulder since this is a fairly steep hill) and walk over, I see some blood on its rear feet but no dirt, no grime no blood or body fluids coming out of any orifice. I speak to the dog it looks at me, I reach down and pet it. It is panting slightly, its fur feels like orange silk. This is someone's very very well cared for little dog. Something is obviously wrong or it would be getting up. I say to the little dog, "I hope I don't hurt you by picking you up but I need to get you off this road, I don't know any other way to do it." I grabbed the dog firmly behind its ears across its neck with my right hand and put my left hand under its front legs and pick it up. That's when I see the rear legs are broken. Both of them. The right one is a closed fracture but the left one is open, that's where the blood is from but it isn't squirting, just a little ooze, dog has very little blood anywhere on it just around the wound and where the other legs have touched it. Dog isn't complaining, I walk over to the grass and set it down. Then it cries out and squeaks tries to stand, it can and does move those legs but of course they are useless broken right at the hock almost on both sides. What in hell am I gonna do? Jesus, there is a driveway leading up the embankment behind me about 100 yards and another one about 100 yards in the other direction leading up it. I'm petting the dog again. I look at its gums, good color, I press them and the color comes back really quick. When I had it up I had looked at its belly and there is no bruising , no discoloration on the stomach, no grime or dirt or anything that would indicate a car crushed it. The stomach is not rigid and there is no discharge from its anus or vulva or anywhere else. While I'm running all this through my head trying to decide whether to take the dog with me and try and find an emergency clinic, or to go door to door and look for an owner, I see blue lights. Well, great, let no good deed go unpunished, I am parked in a bad place on this mostly deserted state highway, now Barney has caught me and I'm gonna get a ticket. He pulls up next to me in the big police cruiser but he is still across the lane, I see his lips moving but I can't hear a damn word he says due to the engine noise and his radio. I hold my hand to my ear and shake my head so up the road he goes, does a Uturn and parks behind me. He gets out, I look up and despite having my lips pressed together like grim death it isn't completely working my eyes are leaking over this dog I don't even know. "This little dog is injured, I am not really sure what to do but it can't just be left here."
"Where did you find it?"
"It was sitting next to the curb and I thought it might be lost so I would stop and look for its collar, but it doesn't have one and it's hurt. This is somebody's housepet, it is completely clean and spotless. Someone is missing this dog." Of course this is said between wiping my eyes.
The trooper is about my age maybe a little younger, I'm not apologizing for what I'm doing or where I'm parked. He looks at me a second and says, "There's a driveway right up there where I turned around. Stay here I'll go see if it is there dog." Off he goes. Several minutes later he comes back, "No one home". I said, "There's another driveway just past this bluff here could you check and see if it might be theirs?"
"Sure thing", off he goes.
In the meantime I go to my car find a sheet and spread it over the backseat, I hope my family is going to forgive me for missing this birthday but I can't leave this little dog (Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away I had a Pom, he was charming and I have a soft spot for them, maybe when I am a very old dog lady I'll have another one). The County Mounty is back, he gets out, "The dog belongs to those people, and the man is on his way." Praise God. Pickup truck pulls behind the trooper and an elderly man a bit taller than I walks up, I tell him what I can about the dog, that it looks like her back legs are both broke. He says, "I have never known her to go down the driveway." I said, "I'm not convinced she didn't fall off that bluff right there because she was at the foot of it looking up at it when I pulled up and there isn't any blood anywhere." I picked the little dog up again and placed her in her owner's arms. I turned and left and said a wordless prayer that her owner finds her a good emergency vet as that was his stated intent. I've done all I can do.
Sometimes I think the well of human decency is just about dry or at least the well that I get to see. While I am not going to say it is overflowing, Sunday March 2nd, that Smith county trooper did his part to pour a pitcher of it back in.